


you pollute the air with a filthy tongue

by gaygoroakechi



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Blood, Gen, Razors, Self-Harm (implied), Talk of Suicide, anngoro friendship, implied suicidal thoughts/plan, mentions of goros mom nd shiho, not romance. strict friendship, overdose mentions/implied, vent fic (again)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 12:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25969348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaygoroakechi/pseuds/gaygoroakechi
Summary: Ann interrupts Goro, or rather, enters at a bad time.Vent fic - will respond to comments, though! Read tags, please.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Takamaki Ann, anngoro friendship - Relationship, takamaki ann & akechi goro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	you pollute the air with a filthy tongue

Ann was nervous. She was nervous about her best friend Akira, who had recently been acting strange, ever since Akechi talked to him during the team meeting he other day - it had seemed pretty serious, what with the huddling and hushed voices. Akechi had obviously been avoiding them, too; Ann could tell that he was much closer to Akira than anyone else on the team, but he participated less than usual in the group chat. Even Ryuji noticed the recent lack of communication from Akechi. Ann hoped it was just Akechi's packed schedule eating up all his time, but Akechi handled his work and personal life very well...

Overall, Ann knew something was wrong. The vibe between the Thieves were tense, and conversation was always forced. Akira seemed ready to bolt at any moment, a stark difference from his usual blasé demeanor. She didn't know Akechi very well, but she was worried that he was isolating himself from the rest of the group. She did know that there was some sort of deal going on between Akira and him, even if they tried to hide it. Maybe he was trying to cut ties with them over that, or something. 

She felt guilty for a second for that last thought, but reminded herself this is the same guy who blackmailed her friends and shoved it down. She could suspect him at least a little bit. She bit her lip, playing with her earrings. What was going on? Ann wanted to protect them all; she couldn't let any of her friends get hurt again. Not after what happened with Kamoshida.

She took a deep breath. In. Out. Relaxed her shoulders. Really, what was the big deal? Maybe she should just go see if Akechi was alright. See how he was doing. If he wasn't home, she could always just leave a note or whatever. If he was, she could figure out what was up and maybe tell Akira or Makoto. There. Seemed solid enough!

Ann whipped out her phone, scrolling for Futaba's number. Smiling, she texted out a quick message. Within five minutes, her phone pinged with Akechi's address info. She pouted. It seemed sorta far... Nothing that a train ticket couldn't solve, though!

****

Within minutes, Ann was standing in front of a massive apartment complex, metal and hulking. The light reflected off the building brightly, and she had to shield her eyes from the glaring sun's rays. She briskly walked inside through to the courtyard, where stone stairs led to each floor. Ann sighed. At least she was wearing her Converse and not her heels. 

She finally found herself on Akechi's floor. She pulled out her scrap of notebook paper, where the address Futaba had given her was scribbled down in pen. Right, 402. That was it. This was where Akechi lived. Ann clenched her left fist, manicured red nails digging into her palm, and dinged the doorbell with her right hand. 

The door swung open, and lo and behold, Akechi stood in front of her with all his glory. 

"What are you doing here? How did you get my- ah, never mind. I see now." He snapped, deflating at the last part and pressing his hand to his forehead. 

"Um. Hi, Akechi! I just, y'know, wanted to talk to you. In person." Ann tried to flash her most convincing smile. 

The detective wasn't fooled. Akechi crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, but eventually sighed and beckoned Ann inside with a gloved hand.

"Welcome. I wasn't under the impression that I would be having visitors today, so I haven't cleaned up. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me," Akechi said, showing Ann to his living room sofa.

Or rather, his room sofa. He only had one room. It was big, yeah, but everything felt claustrophobically squeezed. The "kitchen" comprised of a mini fridge, a microwave oven, and a coffee maker. The room wasn't exactly messy, not in the way that someone casual would define it, just... sort of empty. Clustered, yet somehow bare. 

"Oh! Um, I don't mind! Besides, have you seen Ryuji's room? Your mess is nothing compared to him," She giggled, twirling one of her pigtails nervously. Akechi seemed to actually relax at Ann's attempt to lighten the mood, and folded his hands in his lap.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Akechi asked. 

"Are... are you okay? Um, I know you've been really busy recently, but you're being super distant recently! Like, everyone is worried…" Ann said, purposefully leaving out Akira's weird behavior. 

"Ah. That. Well," Akechi didn't seem surprised - he just sighed. "Work has been rather demanding lately. My boss increased the workload, what with the influx of new cases, and everyone is playing catch-up on it."

Ann called bullshit. She had heard that excuse so many times before. She should've known someone like Akechi wasn't just going to spill his life story to her, though. If that was how he wanted to play it, fine.

"I work too, you know! You really should make sure you're taking care of yourself, though. I see those instant ramen packages." Akechi actually snorted at this, but Ann carried on anyway. "So, um. Is it okay if I use the bathroom?"

Akechi rolled his eyes, and pointed to the door on the right. Ann thanked him quickly, and closed the door. 

The bathroom wasn't much; it consisted of a half-bath, a sink, and a toilet crammed together within the area of 10 square feet. Ann observed her reflection in the mirror, checked her makeup and fastidiously re-applied her lipstick. She dropped her cap halfway in between putting it back on, and cursed. 

Picking it up from the floor, she noticed Akechi's trash bin. It was stuffed with bloody tissues, gauze, and band-aid wrappers. With a sinking feeling in her gut, Ann opened the cabinet below the sink. It was full of medical supplies, pills - and razors. 

Ann immediately closed the cabinet. This was all she needed to know. It didn't take a detective to figure out what Akechi was doing. She shoved her lipstick into her bag, and walked out to where Akechi was sitting.

"I know you saw the trash. I can explain." Was all Akechi said. 

"No, I don't think you can. So this was your plan?" Ann was furious. She was not about to let another person she cared about do this. 

"It's none of your business," He bit, pressing his lips together tightly. "Besides, isn't it a good thing that this is happening? After all, we all know where I stand on the issue of you petty thieves."

"No! This is my business! How can you say that," Ann shaked. "How can you say that when you'd..."

"It really isn't. I, personally, don't see how this affects you negatively in any way." Akechi snapped, his tone icy.

"I'm not going to sit and watch as this happens to another one of my friends! I may not know you very well, but I still care-"

"This isn't something you can use to fuel your little savior complex you all have going on. Don't act like you honestly give a shit." Akechi cut Ann off, inhaling sharply through his nose.

"Fuck off!" Ann blurted out and wiped her eyes. Huh. She was crying. She sniffled grossly, and took a shaky breath. "My friend, my friend Shiho, she tried to kill herself,"

"She nearly died. I saw it happen, I watched it. I'm not going to do the same thing again to someone else I know. Not ever." Ann finished, wiping her snot on her sleeve. 

Akechi doesn't say anything at first - he seems taken aback by her admission. The silence stretched on for a minute or so, punctuated only by Ann's hiccups. 

"It was my mother. I found her in the bathtub when I was little," Akechi broke the silence and closed his eyes. 

"I'm sorry."

Akechi smiled weakly, his pallor prominent in the shadowed apartment. Instead of words, he simply handed Ann a tissue. She blew into it gratefully, trying to blink away the tears.

"Thank you. For coming," Akechi clarified, when Ann looked up in surprise. "I very well might've carried through with my plan tonight. You being here and simply knowing helps it, in a way."

"I'm glad to hear to that," Ann choked out. "but, um... I don't feel comfortable leaving you with the pills or the razors here, though. Can I take them home or something? If you need the pills, I'll leave a small dose for your meds,"

"Ah. Good idea. I don't exactly trust myself with them, either. I do think it would be prudent for you to take them home, yes." Akechi fiddled with his sleeve. "Thank you, Takamaki."

She giggled. Actually giggled. "Just call me Ann!"

"A-ah, okay, Ann. You may call me by my first name as well." He flushed, peering down at the ground. "Thank you."

"Of course, Goro."


End file.
